Waning Financial Enthusiasm for Gene Therapies: National Picture is Bleak, Says Barron's

California multibillion-dollar program scheduled to discuss its research portfolio next week

The cover of CIRM’s 2018 annual report carried the image above. Hope surfaced again this week in an article on the weakened state of the gene therapy business.

“There’s still hope” are three key words today involving hundreds of millions of California dollars for gene research. The phrase appeared in the national financial news magazine, Barron’s, which did not paint the proverbial pretty picture.

The publication, which is online and in print, referred to the investment climate for the development of gene therapies that actually reach the marketplace and are used to treat patients.

The headline on its article said:,

“Gene Therapy Has Lost Support on Wall Street. There’s Still Hope for Big Cures.”

The piece has special relevance for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which is down to its last $3.6 billion, a topic for discussion by CIRM’s governing board next Thursday. Its agenda includes a 34-page presentation of its portfolio and plans to bolster its impact.